On Cars and Screens

Driving shotgun in my brother’s car, I couldn’t help but notice the display hub on the dashboard. The 8-inch touch LCD screen was the most prominent element. The screen was essentially the UI for an onboard computer; the functions of which were access to Spotify, maps and tethering to a mobile phone for a slew of other functions. The fact of the matter is, the car is only a few months old, and already manufacturers have moved to even greater lengths to stuff as much functionality into their dash. In late 2015, both Apple and Google introduced operating systems for cars.

Both Apples ‘CarPlay’ and Google’s ‘Android Auto’ are competing systems designed for the same function: the ‘smartening’ of our vehicles. At the moment a select number of car models can run this software, but it is expected that in the coming years, places like the home and car will become the new battleground for the major tech companies, as the idea of ‘the Internet of things’ really takes off. However, back to cars: the balance between media consumption and interaction with concentration is a tricky one. Indeed, the issue of concentration in the smart media age is a serious one with impacts on productivity and safety.